


Charred Wood

by Phae17



Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Addams Family Fusion, M/M, No beta we die like an Addams, Witchy!Jaskier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:15:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23213128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phae17/pseuds/Phae17
Summary: Jaskier and Geralt discover each other a little differently.Addams Family AU.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 20
Kudos: 322





	Charred Wood

Jaskier broke through the waters of what looked to be the middle of a large lake. Catching his breath he took in his surroundings, not recognizing anything as familiar. 

Interesting. Seems like Wednesday and he went a bit too far again on the travel spell. 

Hearing yelling and whistles behind him, Jaskier turned around and saw three men standing on the docks waving their arms at him. He took in their clothing and the state of the few dilapidated buildings behind them.

Jaskier sighed and made a mental note to halve the amount of Phoenix ashes into the ritual potion as he swam towards the docks. 

A few months later

Jaskier finishes the last few strums with a quiet hum, swinging his lute to the side and bowing gracefully. 

“Thank you for your most generous tidings and for lending your ears to this humble bard.”

“Hey bardling! I need a new potion!”

Jaskier sighs as he turns to put his lute away. Caressing the top of the case to temporarily lift the seal and gently put his lute down, pretending to check the strings and fiddling with the nobs as he nodded along the old man's rant.

He'd been here five days and the old man, Reidan, had come to him a total of three times, this time being the fourth. "Reidan, my good man," Jaskier interrupts him as he clicks the case closed and turns to face him, "I'm really not some witchy assassin, I've shown you two separate hexes. Two. That's more than I show anyone. I cannot and will not do the work for you." 

Jaskier is about to turn to leave when he feels a tug, just under his ribs and in his head. Like a puppet whos strings have been picked up and pulled on. On instinct his head turns towards a shadowy quiet corner and what he sees makes Jaskier smile wide, eyes alight with mischief and wonder. 

This was going to be fun. 

"The monsters exist where I'm from, but I do understand what you mean." Jaskier grins. "What with me being new to this continent and all I think accompanying a Witcher would be a wonderful way to learn all I can about the creatures your land has to offer and in return I can help with your reputation and potion making." 

Yellows eyes look at him steadily, expression unchanging. 

"Where did you say you were from?"

Jaskier huffs a laugh, "You know I never said dear witcher, perhaps I'll tell you while we travel along."

"No."

"Don't be shy now. I'm quite adept at handling monsters and the like." 

Geralt looks at the bard with disbelief written all over his face. "You carry a single dagger in your boot and another on your hip. You're clumsy and loud and you," his gaze darts over to the old man Jaskier had been talking to earlier, "you make potions."

Jaskier hums as he leans back, amusement in his eyes, "I thought I felt someone watching me but it felt faint. Interesting." With a shrug and final toss of his drink Jaskier looks up again, a thrill in his blood,"But yes, I have more daggers back home but, well-- my trip here was rather unexpected. I can use swords as well of course, in my family there's hardly a soul who can't, but I've always had a fondness for daggers. Light, quiet, versatile and I made my first kill with one." 

Jaskier sighs dreamily as he remembers his thirteenth birthday. He had warned his classmate of the dangers in wandering through the forest by their school on Samhain. It was hardly Jaskiers fault that he thought it'd been the Doppler he'd gutted in order to complete a ritual. 

Abruptly shaking the memory away Jaskier looks to Geralt once again. A blank look graced the witchers face but his eyes looked just a little bit curious.

Jaskier blinked rapidly as he felt an odd sensation in his chest, that thrilling sensation returning in his veins. Good things always happened when he felt this way. 

Geralt gave Jaskier a sidelong glance as the bard strummed his lute, muttering lyrics under his breath, a certain kind of energy always seemed to be vibrating from the man. It was different. 

The only thing that came to mind when the Witcher tried to decipher what it was was cold. He smelled like a cold winter's night, like frozen soil, mildew and bark. And it both confused and unnerved Geralt. A smell like that on anyone wasn't natural, even during winter, much less on a human in the middle of summer. 

They'd been travelling together for four weeks and Jaskier was by far one of the strangest humans Geralt had ever met. Jaskier was constantly on the lookout for new things to collect for his potions or spells. He plucked plants and flowers, usually the deadlier ones, and claimed he'd never seen anything like them before and took samples of everything. Usually whistling or vibrating with glee at his own discoveries. He observed insects and common animals to see if they were any different from his own homeland, he also constantly asked specific questions about the monsters Geralt hunted. What did they eat? How do they live? What was dangerous or not dangerous about them? Did they connect with others like themselves? Was there a way to move them away from humans so they could live free and undisturbed?

That last one had greatly confounded Geralt. He’d never met a human so interested in monsters, much less sympathize with them. 

“It’s killing the people in the town.” Geralt said.

Jaskier shrugged. “Yes, but is it in its nature to exclusively eat humans only? Or can it learn to feed on other things? Like animals?”

Geralt looked at the bard like he couldn’t believe the nonsense he was spewing. “I don’t have conversations with them Jaskier. And in my experience, most monsters can't be persuaded away from feeding on humans once they’ve had a taste.”

“Hmm. Perhaps. Let me talk to your next hunted creature, you never let me see them until their dead and I can’t have a conversation with a corpse--” Jaskier paused as a thought struck him, “actually I can have conversations with a corpse but corpses of creatures are so much harder to get anything out of. Basically impossible if there was no connection really.” 

Geralt looked over at Jaskier. “You can speak to the dead?”

Jaskier nodded as he slid his doublet off and hung it off his fingers over his shoulder. “Yes of course. Where did you think I got that root you needed for your witcher potions so fast? That particular herb doesn’t grow in these parts you know and that sorry state of an apothecary in that town was selling it for more than it was worth. I hexed him by the way. Won’t even know what hit him poor lass. Anyway, as I was saying--"

"You expect me to believe the dead gave you the herbs?" 

"I don't see why you wouldn't. That cannot be the strangest thing you've ever heard." Jaskier replied. "Now as I was say--"

"Are you a necromancer?" Geralt asks abruptly, pulling at Roach's reigns to stop.

Jaskier sighed and turned around to look up at the Witcher. "No, I am not. Now if you could stop interrupting me, honestly, you go weeks without uttering barely a single word and now suddenly you can't stop. I think I like it better when talking is my job," The bard continues grumbling as he walks over towards Roach and opens one of Geralt’s bags. Though before the man can say anything a crow comes flying down right onto Jaskier’s shoulder. 

It begins screeching, loudly.

Jaskier jerks his head away from the sound, grimacing, “Not directly in my ear would you. Payment is coming, give me a bloody moment.” 

Jaskier pulls out a small rolled up parchment and extends his hand out towards the crow. The bird drops a few different petals in his hand and picks up the parchment before immediately flying away after crowing a few times. Jaskier silently waves at it before staring up at Geralt, a sheepish look on his face that tugged at something in Geralt. The look is one he’d yet to ever see on the bards face and it made him look boyish, younger.. almost lighter in countenance. 

It did not escape Geralt’s notice that something quiet and dark hung around the man, like a dark cloud always following, never dissipating. It unnerved Geralt that first week they met, but for all of the man’s strange ways, the witcher never felt any malice from him. Jaskier's sense of self preservation was nearly non existent, much to Geralt's quiet concern, the bard had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and spent more time experimenting with potions and composing lyrics for spells than actually sleeping. Geralt's fairly certain he's never seen Jaskier sleep for more than four hours. He also held an amusing amount of disdain for humans but had a soft spot for outcasts, the bard was also ridiculously bloodthirsty. Ready to hex or poison anyone who he'd felt had wronged them or had slighted Geralt himself, which warms the Witcher but also frustrates him as they're sometimes run out of town when the Witcher can't stop him from making a scene. If anything, Geralt felt that sometimes he was the more compassionate of the two, especially when it came to humans. 

Jaskier seemed to empathize more with the creatures Geralt hunted than the people. The bard was fairly pragmatic about human plights and seemed confused about their customs and social etiquette. Something that still confused Geralt, as he'd always assumed Jaskier was human - with some dubious magical ability - and had grown up among them. 

Apparently he'd been very very wrong.

The smell of frosted soil and bark changed to decayed flowers and burning wood, almost charred like when lightening strikes a tree, followed Jaskier as the weeks turned to months. Geralt found himself wandering close to the bard just to catch the scent. 

He realized it grounded him when he found himself bumping shoulders or reaching to clasp a hand on Jaskiers arms, shoulders, doublet to drag him a little closer so he could catch the smell of smoke and petals. The small smile on Jaskiers face always tugged at something in the Witcher.

For all of the mystery surrounding Jaskier, Geralt found he didn’t mind letting himself figure it out a day at a time. 

“Hey Geralt, are you listening? I need to stock up on a few things,” Jaskier paused as he went through his bag while they walked once again, “drowners blood being one of those things. Don’t suppose you could get a contract for those pretty soon?” 

Gerlat sighed. 

“My cousin’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks.”

The sound of glass shattering and rowdy patrons had Geralt wincing, his head still sensitive from the bashing he took when fighting two werewolves that morning. 

Jaskier frowned at the loud and obnoxious group at the bar. The witcher knew that look and that usually spelt trouble for whomever Jaskier was annoyed at. 

“Don’t.” 

The bard hummed a soft noise but didn’t look at him, instead allowing his gaze to sweep the rest of the room. 

Geralt sighed. He found himself doing that a lot around the bard. 

“So what’s this about your cousin?” the witcher took a last ditch effort in steering Jaskiers attention away from the patrons. 

Jaskier straightened up at that. “Oh yes! Wednesday, my dearest and favourite cousin of all time has a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks so we’ll be needing to make a detour soon.” 

Geralt paused his eating as he looked at Jaskier, who was pouring some kind of concoction into his stew that made it turn a dark shade of violet, the witcher tried not to breathe too deeply. 

“We?”

“Mhm, you’re coming with me of course. You’ve been formally invited.”

“I’m not going.” he replied as he resumed eating his stew. 

“Of course you are.” Jaskier stated breezily. “It's an Addams invitation, I’m afraid you’ll find yourself there whether you like it or not.”

Geralt glowered and put his spoon down, “Jaskier, why am I even invited?”

Jaskier raised an eyebrow at him, “Are you really asking me that? You can’t be that stupid.”

Geralt felt his right eye twitch twice, teeth grinding with a clack. 

The bard sighed and lifts his arm to rest his cheek on his hand as he hunches over the table, “No need to get so prickly now. I’ve been telling Wednesday about our adventures for ages now. Naturally they’re curious and very excited to meet you.” Jaskier gave him a small fond smile that Geralt rarely sees and seeing it makes him deflate.

“I doubt your family will feel the same once they see me.”

Jaskier barks a laugh. “Oh dear witcher, if you only knew.” 

Geralt’s look of confusion is questioning all at once. 

Jaskier simply winks and says, “You’ll see. And please do try not to get out of it. I’d hate to see you dragged into the party just because you’re being stubborn.”

That night as they prepare for the night, Geralt warms Jasiers bath with ignii, knowing how much he disliked hot water. The bards yowl settles a small smile on the witchers face. 

The first time they finally kiss, they'd been travelling together for a year and three months. Geralt's adrenaline was high and his eyes were pitch black and black veins crawled around his eyes and over his face. It hadn't occurred to him that Jaskier had never seen him like this.

Jaskier turned around from the fire pit with a small glass vial in hand and promptly dropped it into the fire, mouth open and eyes wide. The fire crackling and green sparks soaring around from whatever concoction Jaskier had been making. 

"Fuck." Geralt muttered. "Jask, I'm sorry, I forgot about how this--"

Jaskier walked up to him slowly, eyeing his face and settling his gaze on his void like eyes. 

"You're beautiful." Jaskier says and kisses him. Arms going around his neck and body pressed right up against his body as he shoved his weight over him, Geralt stumbled a little but immediately finds his balance. 

Stunned and confused, Geralt says, "Jaskier, I--"

Jaskier stops kissing him and pulls enough away to look at him in the eyes. "Shut up and kiss me already. I refuse to wait any longer for you to come to your senses, for all they're heightened powers you've somehow missed the most obvious thing."

Geralt stares at him a moment and huffs a small laugh. "Nothing about you is obvious Jaskier."

Jaskier sighed. "Well I'm making it obvious now aren't I? Can we stop talking now?"

Geralt answers him by settling his hands on the bards hips and swooping in for a kiss that has Jaskier vaguely mutter, "oh finally."

Geralt opts to tell Jaskier about the potion mixture boiling over into the pit later. He could do with less bottles in his bag.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what this is, but it wouldn't leave me. And as far as I know, no one else has written an Addams Family AU so I had to I guess. 
> 
> I wanted to go more in depth in this story but I think I do better with snapshots. Those snapshots are not guaranteed tho, and if I do write them, It'll probably be after I finish my first series. Remember, I'm not really a writer but I'll keep writing until I'm out of inspiration lol
> 
> And for those following my Geraskier Merlin AU series, I'm still working on it! Got three more in the series and that'll probably wrap it up ... Probably. Hopefully. I have other stuff I need to work on T__T


End file.
